English Grammar: The Basics

227 Pages·2021·3.866 MB·English

by  Michael McCarthy

ENGLISH GRAMMAR
THE BASICS
English Grammar: The Basics offers a clear, non-jargonistic introduc-
tion to English grammar and its place in society. Rather than taking
a prescriptive approach, this book helps the reader become aware of
the social implications of choices they make to use standard or non-
standard (regional/dialect) forms.
Readers will consider:
(cid:1) what grammar is and how it fits into the structure of language;
(cid:1) how grammar functions in the school curriculum, the press,
broadcastingandsocialmedia,aswellashowtheseoutletsreflect
andreinforceourattitudestowardsgrammar;
(cid:1) differences between speech and writing, as well as between
formality and informality;
(cid:1) major different approaches to theorising and describing gram-
mar from important grammarians, including Noam Chomsky
and Michael Halliday.
Featuring a glossary of key terms and practical tips and insights
from the author’s 50+ years of language teaching experiencearound
the world, this book is for anyone who has ever found themselves
questioning the ‘rules’ of the English language.
Michael McCarthy is Emeritus Professor of Applied Linguistics,
UniversityofNottingham,andAdjunctProfessorofAppliedLinguis-
tics,UniversityofLimerick.Hehas(co-)authoredandedited54books
and is co-founder (with Ronald Carter) of the CANCODE spoken
Englishcorpus.Hehaslecturedin46countriesandhasbeeninvolved
inlanguageteachingandappliedlinguisticsfor55years.
The Basics
The Basics is a highly successful seriesof accessible guidebooks which
provide an overview of the fundamental principles of a subject area
in a jargon-free and undaunting format.
Intended for students approaching a subject for the first time, the
books both introduce the essentials of a subject and provide an ideal
springboard for further study. With over 50 titles spanning subjects
from artificial intelligence (AI) to women’s studies, The Basics are an
ideal starting point for students seeking to understand a subject area.
Each text comes with recommendations for further study and gra-
dually introduces the complexities and nuances within a subject.
SUSTAINABILITY(SECONDEDITION)
PETERJACQUES
TRANSLATION
JULIANEHOUSE
TRANSNATIONALLITERATURE
PAULJAY
TOWNPLANNING
TONYHALL
WOMEN’SSTUDIES(SECONDEDITION)
BONNIEG.SMITH
ENGLISHGRAMMAR
MICHAELMCCARTHY
For a full list of titles in this series, please visit www.routledge.com/
The-Basics/book-series/B
ENGLISH GRAMMAR
THE BASICS
Michael McCarthy
Firstpublished2021
byRoutledge
2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,OxonOX144RN
andbyRoutledge
605ThirdAvenue,NewYork,NY10158
RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninformabusiness
©2021MichaelMcCarthy
TherightofMichaelMcCarthytobeidentifiedasauthorofthisworkhasbeen
assertedbyhiminaccordancewithsections77and78oftheCopyright,Designs
andPatentsAct1988.
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedorreproducedorutilised
inanyformorbyanyelectronic,mechanical,orothermeans,nowknownor
hereafterinvented,includingphotocopyingandrecording,orinanyinformation
storageorretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublishers.
Trademarknotice:Productorcorporatenamesmaybetrademarksorregistered
trademarks,andareusedonlyforidentificationandexplanationwithoutintentto
infringe.
BritishLibraryCataloguing-in-PublicationData
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Names:McCarthy,Michael,1947-author.
Title:Englishgrammar:thebasics/MichaelMcCarthy.
Description:Abingdon,Oxon;NewYork,NY:Routledge,2021.|
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.|
Identifiers:LCCN2020054550(print)|LCCN2020054551(ebook)|
ISBN9780367633660(hardback)|ISBN9780367633653(paperback)|
ISBN9780367633677(ebook)
Subjects:LCSH:Englishlanguage--Grammar.|Englishlanguage--Socialaspects.
Classification:LCCPE1106.M362021(print)|LCCPE1106(ebook)|
DDC428.2--dc23
LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2020054550
LCebookrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2020054551
ISBN:978-0-367-63366-0(hbk)
ISBN:978-0-367-63365-3(pbk)
ISBN:978-0-367-63367-7(ebk)
TypesetinBembo
byTaylor&FrancisBooks
For Jeanne

CONTENTS
List of figures xiv
List of tables xvi
Acknowledgements xviii
Introduction to the reader xix
1 Everyone knows what grammar is … don’t they? 1
A word for all seasons 1
What grammar is (and what it isn’t) 2
A rough definition 2
Traffic lights and sunrises 4
The rules of the road 4
Universal rules 7
Where do the conventions come from? 7
Prescriptions for the best medicine 7
Grammatical standard-bearers 10
Gathering more evidence 12
I heard it on the radio 12
At the click of a mouse 12
Corpus evidence 13
Describing English 15
viii
CONTENTS
Grammar and grammars 15
Varieties of English 16
Dialects 17
Other types of variation 17
This book: What it offers and what it doesn’t 18
The many-headed hydra 18
The basics 19
What else is in the chapters? 20
2 From words to sentences 22
Taking words apart 22
What’s in a word? 22
Morphemes 23
Different types of morphemes 24
Morphemes and words: Building the system 25
How do words fit into grammar? 25
Words and phrases 25
Phrases and clauses 27
What is a clause? 27
Who does what? Participants and processes 28
Clauses: Different shapes, different meanings 29
Grammar and meaning 29
What sort of mood are you in? 30
Affirmative and negative 32
Clauses: Who’s doing what, where, when and how? 32
Subjects and objects 32
Complements 33
A peaceful agreement: Concord 33
Adverbials: Mobility rules! 35
Are you running a business? Or just
running? 35
Let’s hear your voice: Active and passive 36
‘In-between’ passives 37
Clauses joining forces: Building sentences 38
What is a sentence? 38
Joining up 1: Three little words 40
Joining up 2: Subordinate clauses 40
Conditions 41
ix
CONTENTS
Non-finite clauses 42
Taking care of the relatives 42
Relative clauses: Common difficulties 45
Who knows what? Who said what? Reported
clauses 46
Chains or Russian dolls? 46
A place for everything: Word-order 47
Into focus 47
Sometimes at the beginning? Or at the end
maybe? 48
This section you must read 49
Scaling the heights 49
Is there life beyond the sentence? 50
Bigger links mean bigger chains 50
Linking expressions 50
Taking an axe to the sentence: Clefts 52
3 The grammar toolbox 55
A toolbox full of words 55
What are nouns for? 55
Naming the world 55
How much coffee makes a coffee? 55
What else can nouns do? 58
Building with nouns 59
Verbs: Being, doing, happening 60
Who does what and to whom? 60
Main verbs, auxiliaries and modals 60
Auxiliary ‘be’: Marking aspect 61
Auxiliary ‘have’: Marking aspect 62
Auxiliary ‘be’: Marking voice 63
Aspect and voice: Using the tools together 64
Auxiliary ‘do’: Yes or no? 64
Auxiliary ‘do’ for emphasis 65
Substitute ‘do’ 66
Modal verbs: What’s true, what’s right 66
That could be true … to a degree 66
‘You must come to dinner sometime!’ 67